Su Ming was starting to grow impatient with Tang San's relentless pestering of Xiao Wu. Since Tang San was so insistent on knowing the truth, Su Ming decided to reveal it—but warned him not to regret it later.
Stepping forward, Su Ming cast a soundproof barrier between them, his lips curving into a slight smile. "Tang San, since you're so desperate to know why Xiao Wu hasn't left me, I'll tell you the truth. But you better be ready for it. And once this barrier comes down, I suggest you keep your mouth shut, or else..."
Tang San couldn't shake the uneasy feeling creeping over him. Why the need for a soundproof barrier? Why did Su Ming warn him not to speak? Could it be that the woman in Su Ming's room that night was... No! It couldn't be what he was thinking! He refused to believe it.
Su Ming's next words hit Tang San like a hammer to the chest: "The woman in my room that night was Xiao Wu. Satisfied now?"
It felt like Tang San had been struck by lightning. His mind reeled, the realization sinking in—Su Ming and Xiao Wu had already done that! How could Su Ming do such a thing? Didn't he feel guilty?
Tang San was still stuck in his mindset from his past life, where such things would only happen at a much older age. But he'd forgotten that in this world, with the existence of spirit rings, every time a spirit master absorbed a new ring, their body would mature faster. So the age at which people started engaging in such relationships was naturally earlier here.
Su Ming had simply adapted to the customs of this world. He wasn't about to stubbornly wait until Xiao Wu was twenty-eight to act on their feelings. Su Ming didn't consider himself a saint; if Xiao Wu was willing, what was the point of holding back?
Tang San, still in disbelief, stammered, "N-no, it's impossible! You and Xiao Wu are too young to—"
Su Ming looked at Tang San with an amused expression. "What's so strange about it? Do you think Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun hadn't done the same thing at my age? And don't forget what Oscar said—his father had him when he was only fourteen. So really, this is perfectly normal."
Then Su Ming changed his tone. "Oh, I get it now. It's not that you can't accept it happening at our age—you're just upset that the girl was Xiao Wu."
"Well, I've told you everything now, so give up. I'm taking down the barrier, and if you try to say anything stupid... well, you know what'll happen."
Everyone else was watching closely, curious about what Su Ming had told Tang San. Although they couldn't hear the conversation, they could see the change in Tang San's demeanor—he looked utterly devastated.
Xiao Wu saw the look on Tang San's face and immediately understood that the conversation must have involved her. It was for the best. If Tang San kept pestering her after this, she wouldn't hold back anymore. Now that everything was out in the open, there was no need to keep pretending.
If not for Su Ming, Xiao Wu would never have put up with Tang San's behavior for this long. Now, she didn't have to hold back anymore!
Her heart warmed at the thought—Su Ming truly cared about her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of using a soundproof barrier to talk to Tang San privately.
Returning to Xiao Wu's side, Su Ming gently patted her bunny ears. "Alright, Xiao Wu, it's time to leave Shrek Academy. You don't have to hold back for my sake anymore."
Su Ming knew Xiao Wu's straightforward nature. If not for him, she would never have restrained herself in her fights with Tang San or the others. She had only done so to avoid causing trouble for him.
At this moment, Ning Rongrong stood up as well. "Since both of you are leaving, I'll be going with you."
She turned to Flender and politely said, "This will be the last time I address you as 'Headmaster.' With Su Ming and Xiao Wu leaving, there's no point in me staying. As for your academy, it's just... basic. All you do to train students is make them run laps. If that's all it takes, I could've stayed at my sect and run on my own. And when it comes to hunting spirit beasts, I have my two grandfathers to help me. Frankly, Shrek Academy hasn't been of much help to me."
"The only reason I stayed this long was because of Su Ming, Xiao Wu, and Zhuqing. This journey wasn't entirely fruitless, though—I did make a few good friends."
Zhu Zhuqing stepped forward as well, coldly declaring, "I'm leaving Shrek Academy, just like them."
She spoke in such an indifferent tone that it seemed like the matter didn't concern her at all.
Flender felt like the sky was falling. This was exactly what he had feared when he tried to convince Su Ming to stay. He knew that if Su Ming left, Xiao Wu would follow, and Ning Rongrong, who had a close relationship with Su Ming, would leave too. Zhu Zhuqing would likely follow them.
His martial spirit was the owl, after all—he was observant enough to notice the dynamics at play.
How had things come to this? Everything had been fine after the fight at the arena. This was supposed to be a celebration, so how had it turned into this?
Flender forced a pained smile. "Su Ming, Xiao Wu, Rongrong, Zhuqing, please reconsider. We're about to join Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, where we'll have all the resources you need!"
But Ning Rongrong replied, "Don't worry about that, Headmaster. I'll have my father and grandfathers handle our enrollment at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. We won't be joining you. As for why, Su Ming already explained it quite clearly."
Dai Mubai angrily shouted at Zhu Zhuqing, "Zhu Zhuqing! Just try leaving Shrek! Don't forget—you're my fiancée. Your identity is tied to the Zhu family of the Star Luo Empire. As long as you have that identity, you'll never escape me!"
Zhu Zhuqing regarded Dai Mubai like he was nothing more than a pathetic, raging housecat. "Pathetic! Do you even have the guts to return to the Star Luo Empire? You've been on the run for three years, disgraced prince."
Driven to a breaking point, Dai Mubai snapped, "You're forcing my hand! I've been too nice to you. Looks like I'll need to discipline you to teach you a lesson!"
Seeing Dai Mubai about to attack, Su Ming, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong all prepared themselves. Su Ming calmly said, "Dai Mubai! You want to fight? Go ahead and try!"
Dai Mubai, however, no longer cared about what Su Ming said. Since Su Ming had decided to leave Shrek Academy, if they fought and Su Ming got the better of him, surely the two headmasters wouldn't just sit idly by.
"Su Ming, shut up! Disciplining my fiancée has nothing to do with you! I've been sick of you for a while now—messing around with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong. And now, you've got your eyes on my fiancée too?"
Su Ming: …
At that moment, Su Ming hadn't even considered such things. He wasn't someone who would take advantage of situations to impress women. Besides, he didn't think Dai Mubai could beat Zhu Zhuqing. He had always suspected that Zhu Zhuqing's abilities had a defense-breaking effect.
The reason Su Ming stepped up was simply because he saw Zhu Zhuqing as a friend.
Meanwhile, the members of the Emperor Team felt a bit out of place. Why had the Shrek Academy team suddenly turned on each other? Qin Ming felt the same way, thinking that Tang San's comment about Su Ming's cultivation technique was just the spark that lit the fuse.
All they could do now was wait and see what would happen.
Qin Ming also began to wonder—if Ning Rongrong brought Su Ming and the others to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, could he still bring in Tang San and the others? After all, he was just a talented teacher. His influence was nowhere near as great as Ning Rongrong's.
Seeing that Su Ming, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong had stood up for her, Zhu Zhuqing felt a warmth in her heart. But this time, she had made up her mind. It was time to settle things with Dai Mubai once and for all.
She had already anticipated this moment when she agreed to leave the academy with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong.
With a smile, Zhu Zhuqing told the trio, "You don't need to get involved. Dai Mubai and I need to settle this ourselves. I don't think he can beat me anymore."
Dai Mubai sneered. "Zhuqing, I admit you've improved quickly, but don't forget—I'm still one level above you. And as someone who knows the characteristics of the Hell Civet, I can tell you, all you've got is speed. Your attack power is nowhere near enough to break through my White Tiger's defense."
Su Ming: Where does Dai Mubai get all this confidence from?
Even Tang San recalled his previous fight with Zhu Zhuqing and whispered a warning to Dai Mubai, "Boss Dai, be careful. Zhuqing's strength is no joke."
But Dai Mubai ignored the warning. To him, the history of the Star Luo Empire had always shown the White Tiger to be superior to the Hell Civet. This would be no exception.
Without another word, Dai Mubai released his White Tiger martial spirit. His first and third spirit rings lit up, enhancing him to his strongest state.
"Come at me, Zhuqing! With your weak attacks, do you really think you can break through my full-power defense?"
With a swift step, Dai Mubai charged at Zhu Zhuqing, determined to show her his strength.
Zhu Zhuqing, however, wasn't worried. The White Tiger might excel in attack and defense, but in terms of speed, it was no match for her. What good was all that power if it couldn't hit her?
With the system-granted defense-breaking ability, Zhu Zhuqing was brimming with confidence in her attacks. She didn't need overwhelming strength—she had speed on her side.
She quickly summoned her martial spirit and activated her first spirit skill, Ghost Shadow Strike, to close the distance between herself and Dai Mubai. Then, with a quick movement, she gathered energy in her right hand and unleashed her third spirit skill, Hell Slash, striking down on him.
Dai Mubai, reacting swiftly, adjusted his stance, crossed his arms in front of him, and summoned a protective barrier of spirit power. "Zhuqing, give it up! Your Hell Slash won't be able to break through my defense!"
But to his shock, the moment her strike landed, a sharp pain shot through his arms, as if his defenses weren't there at all.
"Ahhhhh!"
Dai Mubai was sent stumbling back several steps, his arms bleeding profusely as he gritted his teeth in pain.
Seeing Dai Mubai in this state filled Zhu Zhuqing with satisfaction. She had long wanted to give him a proper beating, and today she finally had the chance. Her defense-breaking ability, even at half its full power, was more than enough to make Dai Mubai suffer.
Dai Mubai glared at Zhu Zhuqing, disbelief written all over his face. "Impossible! What did you do? Why do I feel like my defenses are useless?"
Everyone watching furrowed their brows. How was this happening?
Most of them had assumed Zhu Zhuqing wouldn't be able to beat Dai Mubai. But the outcome was completely unexpected.
Even Qin Ming was taken aback. He had thought Zhu Zhuqing's abilities were rather average, especially given her traditional path as an agility-type spirit master, which made her less effective in direct combat. He figured she was more suited for assassination, relying on speed and stealth to deliver a deadly blow.
Dai Mubai, having learned from his first mistake, didn't hesitate to launch multiple White Tiger Light Waves at Zhu Zhuqing, no longer caring that they were in a restaurant.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Su Ming, then easily dodged the slow-moving attacks.
Su Ming, understanding her silent request, created several wooden hands on the ground, which enveloped the incoming light waves and snuffed them out.
The ease with which Su Ming nullified the attack stunned everyone, especially Dai Mubai. Was the gap between him and Su Ming really that wide? His strongest attack had been neutralized so effortlessly.
Luckily, the group had reserved a private room for their dinner, so the soundproof barrier Su Ming had set up earlier prevented their fight from disturbing the other patrons.
Of course, the soundproof barrier was nothing special to Gu Rong, who had been eavesdropping from the shadows. He could break through it at any time, though he didn't see the need. Instead, he used space transfer to discreetly position himself within the restaurant.
Su Ming sensed Gu Rong's presence and couldn't help but twitch a little. That old man was at it again—always sneaking around to spy. Just like last time